


Any Path With You

by ObsidiansChild



Series: The Reformation of Eliot Waugh [8]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:02:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24625186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsidiansChild/pseuds/ObsidiansChild
Summary: After Quentin has graduated Brakebills, Eliot is forced to think of the future.
Relationships: Kady Orloff-Diaz/Julia Wicker, Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Series: The Reformation of Eliot Waugh [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1719526
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	Any Path With You

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this installment is super short, too. Sorry! It takes place around six months after the last part of the series. I promise the next installment is somewhat longer and way more exciting.

_ Eliot _

Eliot was reclined on the sofa that evening, with Prudence stretched across his hip as he read over Quentin’s shoulder. His boyfriend was seated on the floor, sifting through a stack of opened and unenchanted mail he’d started receiving a couple of weeks ago. Inquiries, offer letters, informational brochures. The bulk of it was on the coffee table, having been sorted into piles that didn’t quite make sense to Eliot, but appeared to be working for Quentin. 

Seeing the yearly salary being offered in the letter currently in Quentin’s hand, Eliot swallowed back a comment, knowing it was the last thing that would make the man’s decision for him. Glancing at the letterhead and seeing the hospital offering the position was in Arizona, he grimaced. Although Quentin could portal anywhere for his prosthetic work, he wanted any permanent position he might accept to be in New York. 

What Quentin was really hoping to find was a job that would allow him the freedom to continue the non-profit work he was already so committed to. He and Caroline had spent their final few months at Brakebills offering their specialized magic to people who wouldn’t have been able to afford it otherwise, in need of the practice. Now, Quentin could perform the spells he’d co-authored with the assistance of anyone skilled in micro-healing. He’d learned the meta-math required to tweak Julia’s spells, adjusting for measurements and other minor details. 

Eliot was astounded at what Quentin had already accomplished, and he’d barely graduated. His only real complaint was that Quentin’s chosen profession hadn’t come with a title. Dr. Coldwater would have been incredibly sexy. 

Quentin sighed, throwing the letter into the tallest stack of papers before reaching for his cigarettes, lighting one and leaning his head back against the cushion. Eliot combed his fingers through his long hair, sad when he remembered that Quentin had made an appointment to have it trimmed to his shoulders again now that the stress of passing his final year was over. 

“Anything promising at all?” he asked.

“There were a few places nearby that were interested in having a conversation, at least. I can make the calls Monday.”

“You’ll find a good fit,” Eliot assured him. “I think the issue is no one knows where to put you. This is completely new.”

“Yeah, I get that. I’m kind of wondering if I can just consult, though.” At Eliot’s quirked brow, he elaborated. “You know, like  _ not  _ take a position with someone? Just let them come to me? But I don’t really know how that would work. I don’t have any sort of reputation or anything, or know how to put myself out there like that.”

“It could be something you could ask Grace about,” Eliot suggested, reaching for his bourbon on the end table and finishing it off. The subtle movement caused Prudence to stretch a long leg and snag her claws in his shirt. He glared tiredly at her, receiving a blinking “fuck you” in return. Typical. “Or Lipson. It’s not a bad idea.”

“I could call them first, I guess,” he agreed. 

A knock sounded on the door of their apartment, and Eliot cursed as Prudence darted off of him to scrabble towards the bedroom, her claws most definitely leaving marks; she wasn’t one for strangers. “Who the fuck?” 

“No idea,” Quentin mumbled, leaving his seat to look through the peephole. “It’s Julia?”

“Isn’t she on vacation?” Eliot asked, but Quentin was already unlatching the door, and seconds later Julia was in his arms, squealing. Kady stepped around her, smiling a greeting at Eliot before flopping into one of the leather chairs. He looked at her in confusion, but she only shrugged in response.

“Jules, what are you doing here?” Quentin asked as he released her. “I thought you were in LA?”

“We were!” she exclaimed. “But I had big news, so we portaled here from our hotel!”

“Okay?”

Julia held up her left hand for Quentin to see, a shining diamond ring clearly visible on her finger. “We got married!”

Eliot choked on air, eyes wide. Looking to Kady, she only smirked at him.

“Oh, my God!” Quentin exclaimed, looking just as stunned as Eliot felt for a moment before he beamed at her. “What the hell?”

“I know, right? We were just walking, and there was this chapel. We were making jokes, and then…” She laughed, throwing her hands out at her sides.

“Wait, this just happened?” Eliot asked.

“Yesterday,” Kady told him, her expression bored but she was failing horribly at hiding the giddiness in her eyes. 

“This is crazy,” Quentin laughed, as he pulled Julia in for another hug. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Uh, I guess this calls for drinks?” Eliot asked, mentally reeling as he stood from the sofa to retreat to the kitchen area. He wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about the news, but knew he wasn’t prepared to exude Quentin’s current level of happiness over it. 

“Oh, definitely,” Julia replied, pulling away from Quentin to face the counter. “Drinks at our hotel are ungodly.” Kady stood from her seat to join her new wife, and Eliot chose a bottle of zinfandel from their rather small collection, dividing the contents into four glasses. 

“To the happy couple,” he toasted, raising his glass a bit and hoping he didn’t appear as unsettled as he felt. 

After his toast, Julia and Kady settled in for a visit. Eliot took a seat in one of the chairs to allow Quentin and Julia the sofa while Kady stepped out onto the balcony to make a phone call. 

“So, what are you going to do now?” Quentin asked. “I thought you were planning on staying on campus.”

“Well, Fogg  _ might  _ consider letting Kady stay with me, at least for a while. He was pretty desperate to get his hands on another Knowledge professor. But yeah, I think vacation is going to get cut short,” she laughed. “We’ll have to find a place, and Kady mentioned getting a dog or three eventually.”

“Jules, you hate dogs.”

“I do not!” she cried, slapping Quentin on the arm. “I was just scared of your neighbor’s, and it was  _ huge.”  _ Eliot smirked as his boyfriend gave her a clear “if you say so” look. “Besides, it’ll be good practice for when we have kids.”

Eliot felt like someone had punched him in the chest, and was briefly grateful he hadn’t chosen that moment to finish his wine.  _ Kids? _

Quentin only seemed mildly surprised by the statement, however. “Oh, you’ve talked about that?”

“Well, yeah. We’ve been together awhile, and I’ve always wanted kids. We had that talk pretty early on.”

Quentin chuckled. “I can see that with you.”

“Oh, speaking of kids,” Julia said, turning towards Eliot. “How was the visit with your niece?”

“It was great,” Quentin spoke before Eliot could respond. “Kara said Amanda did really well on the plane, and we got most of the touristy places out of the way this time. They’re going to try to come back around Christmas for a weekend.”

As Quentin continued to talk about Kara and Amanda’s visit, Eliot stood to return his wine glass to the kitchen. After the talk of marriage and children, he couldn’t really deal with listening to his boyfriend gush about Amanda, who he’d heavily doted on during her visit the previous week. Eliot had been fully prepared to file all of Quentin’s wistful looks towards the child into a box labeled “to be dealt with later,” but now he was wondering what Janine would think about that.

Honestly, fuck Janine. And it wasn’t like Quentin had tried to bring up the subject of children and Eliot had shut him down. He’d never said a word. 

But Eliot also knew he had a year left in his internship with Wicke and they were living in a one-bedroom apartment. Perhaps Q was just biding his time, waiting until it was even an option before he decided to broach the topic. Eliot found the thought vaguely terrifying and wondered if it would be better to prepare himself now. 

It wasn’t that Eliot hated children; he’d rather liked spending time with Amanda, too. It was more the thought of being responsible for a whole damn _person_ that made him feel ill; he was heading quickly towards thirty and still didn’t feel all that confident in taking care of his fucking _self_. While his responsibilities were always seen to, he knew he was lacking in other areas. And he loved Quentin dearly, but he had his own problems. They had a collective laundry list of issues between them; how were they supposed to raise a functioning child? They hadn’t even discussed marriage in a serious manner.

God, was that a whole other issue? Eliot sighed, rinsing his glass and drying it with magic before storing it back in the cabinet.

Still, he knew exactly what letting something go unspoken could do. Deciding he would need to at least check in with Quentin’s thoughts on the subject, Eliot spent the rest of Julia and Kady’s visit as a passive spectator rather than a supportive friend, though he tried to keep up with the thread of conversation and comment when appropriate. Prudence eventually returned to the living room and wedged herself between his hip and the arm of the chair, growling softly at the trespassers to her territory. 

“I know, it’s all their fault,” Eliot whispered, stroking her between the ears. 

The women only remained a little over an hour, eager to return to their shortened vacation. Eliot managed to sincerely congratulate them both before they stepped out into the hall and away to wherever they’d portaled in from. 

He then busied himself with cleaning up their glasses while Quentin fed Prudence for the evening, and though he honestly wanted another glass or two of wine, he forced himself to return to the living room with water. 

Quentin joined him on the sofa moments later, and when Eliot met his eye, his anxiety was forgotten under his boyfriend’s amused stare. “What?”

“You’ve been a little quiet, is all,” he ventured, looking like he might start laughing at any minute, and Eliot knew he was caught. “Something on your mind?”

“You know, your little secret psychic ability isn’t cute,” he replied evenly. 

Quentin chuckled. “Well, it only works with you, so I guess I can understand why you hate it.” He rested his hand on Eliot’s thigh. “But you can stop freaking out, okay? We are nowhere near the place to have that talk, El. Sorry if I’ve made you think otherwise.”

Eliot sighed. “But you want them, right? Kids?”

Quentin looked thoughtful for a moment, before slowly nodding. “I mean, I think so? I like them. I always imagined having them.” He met Eliot’s eye with a wry smile. “But life hasn’t exactly turned out the way I imagined so far, so I’m prepared to adjust.”

Eliot’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… if you don’t want them. That’s okay, too.”

“Q, that’s… don’t make that my decision.”

Quentin shook his head. “I’m not. I’m just saying it’s not a dealbreaker, either way. I’m good, is what I’m saying.”

“Just like this?” Eliot asked.

“What’s so bad about it? Besides the part where I’m unemployed.”

Eliot rolled his eyes. “Yes, because that’s sure to be a permanent issue. I just… I never  _ did  _ imagine having kids. I’m not  _ against  _ the idea.” He sipped at his water, smiling. “A little brown-eyed baby doesn’t sound like the  _ worst  _ thing.”

“Oh, uh-uh. If we have a kid, it’s yours.”

Eliot scoffed. “Like the world needs another me.”

Quentin gasped mockingly. “What would Janine say to that?”

“Janine can sit and spin, Coldwater, it’s not Monday.” Quentin laughed quietly. “Besides, you have Amanda; I think she’s carbon copy enough, don’t you?”

“Sure, but she’s also in Indiana. Besides, you obviously have the better genes between us, says my pill organizer.”

“Please, Q. Half the fucking population’s depressed. I’d rather deal with that than some monkey with my ADHD climbing the cabinets.”

Quentin laughed. “Is that how you were as a kid?”

Eliot gave him a dry look. “It was a near thing. I had work to keep me busy, though.” Realizing he had leverage, he smirked. “That’s my offer, anyway. I will agree to raise exactly one child with you,  _ when  _ we’re ready and  _ only  _ if I get my way. I want a baby Q.”

Quentin’s eyebrows rose dramatically. “Is that so?”

“It is.” Pleased, he sipped at his water. 

His boyfriend scoffed, shaking his head. “I really don’t get how  _ I _ somehow got labeled the brat in this relationship.”

Eliot’s grin only deepened. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
